As Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, egg prices soar in Changchun, Jilin
Prices began to climb before the Mid-Autumn Festival, with eggs on the market rising from 4 yuan per jin to 5 yuan, as if riding a rocket.
Why have egg prices risen, and how high can this "rocket egg" fly as the Mid-Autumn Festival nears? On the 6th, a reporter from China Jilin Web visited the market, talked with farmers, and joined experts in focusing on egg prices.
Egg prices have risen too sharply
Eggs, eggs, if you don't buy now, they'll go up even more in a few days... At 8 o'clock on the 6th, at the egg counter of a supermarket on Changxin Street, Ms. Zhou, a Changchun resident who had originally only intended to buy a barrel of soybean oil, was drawn in by talk that egg prices were about to rise.
"Eggs are already this expensive, and the price has really risen too sharply." Looking at the price tag on the egg counter, Ms. Zhou admitted that prices had risen so much even before the Mid-Autumn Festival, at 5 yuan per jin, and that she really would soon be unable to afford them.
She recalled that when she came to buy eggs here last month, the price was only 3.98 yuan per jin, an increase of a full yuan or more.
In fact, the egg price increase Ms. Zhou spoke of was by no means unique to this supermarket; in the current market, rising egg prices have become quite widespread.
A reporter from China Jilin Web subsequently visited 8 supermarkets and farmers' markets in Kuancheng District, Nanguan District and Erdao District and found that egg prices had long been rising across the board.
Among the egg prices the reporter recorded, the lowest was 4.8 yuan/jin and the highest was 5.12 yuan/jin, with increases mostly around one yuan per jin.
In fact, the current state of egg prices is also reflected in the latest monitoring data from the Changchun Price Supervision and Inspection Bureau. According to monitoring, the average retail price of eggs in five major farmers' markets was 4.84 yuan, up 7.08% compared with the previous week.
Farmers
Only after earlier low prices did they begin to see money back
Although the rise in egg prices has consumers "crying expensive," from the farmers' point of view it is a good chance to recoup their losses.
"The eggs from our chicken farm are usually sent to Changchun." Zhao Yuling, a farmer in Nong'an, told a China Jilin Web reporter that the current wholesale price of eggs was 3.4-3.7 yuan/jin. Prices had risen for a while at the start of the year, then fell again, and at their lowest were only 2.4-2.8 yuan/jin. The main reason prices were low at the time was hot weather and low demand, so prices stayed on the low side.
During the conversation, the reporter learned that Zhao Yuling's household produced 3,200 jin of eggs per day. After deducting daily costs for feed, labor, electricity and other expenses, the wholesale price had to be at least 3.2 yuan/jin to break even. In the earlier period, they could be said not even to have recovered their costs.
The current rise in egg prices has clearly given Zhao Yuling hope of making a profit. However, she is somewhat worried and does not know how long such high prices can last.
"Schools have started this period, and besides, the Mid-Autumn Festival is coming soon, so every household has to buy some eggs to eat for the festival. I guess that's the reason prices have been pushed up. I don't know how long it can last?" Zhao Yuling said.
As for the reason for the egg price increase, the Changchun Price Supervision and Inspection Bureau also explained it when releasing its latest data: affected by large-scale purchasing by food processing enterprises and the start of the new school term, demand for eggs continued to grow, and egg prices showed a trend of continuous increase.
"Affected by supermarkets stocking up for the Mid-Autumn Festival, distributors at various downstream retail links are actively purchasing, and eggs are at a periodic peak in demand." Analysts also gave an answer: supply is relatively tight, eggs on the market are in short supply, and egg prices have accordingly risen sharply.
Market outlook
Limited room for egg prices to fall in the near term
As the Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, the "rocket egg" has appeared again. How long can such high prices last?
Analysts said that since the beginning of this year, egg prices in Northeast China have shown a "rise-fall-rise" trend.
Analyzing this year's market, in January this year, supported by the Spring Festival, demand from food factories and downstream end links was strong, and egg prices rose. Around the 21st, as stocking ended at various links, demand for eggs weakened, and egg prices suffered their first slide of 2016, falling all the way.
By February 29, the average egg price in Northeast China had fallen to 2.90 yuan/jin, a drop of 28.40% from January 21. From late February to early June, although there was support during Qingming and Dragon Boat Festival, supply was relatively sufficient, so price increases were not large, and egg prices underwent small fluctuations and adjustments. Starting in June, as the weather turned hotter, market demand weakened, and further affected by school holidays in mid-to-late June, demand weakened further. Egg prices experienced their second slide of 2016, and laying hen farming entered an era of losses. Egg prices in Northeast China fell to 2.44 yuan/jin on June 26, and some farmers, unable to bear the burden, actively culled old hens.
Afterward, with laying rates declining during the hens' summer rest period and fewer old hens in inventory, egg supply decreased compared with the earlier period, and egg prices began their long road to a comeback.
"In early August, affected by food factories stocking up for the Mid-Autumn Festival, egg prices began to rise, and laying hen farming returned to an era of profit. Starting in mid-month, as school canteens began stocking up, demand improved further." Analysts expect that supported by the Mid-Autumn Festival effect, overall demand is still acceptable, and room for egg prices to fall in the near term is limited.